Friends Stuff
by NB80
Summary: Harry does school-type things. Now with twice the excitement and an actual storyline.
1. Introduction

Harry was sitting in the library, his head bowed in concentration over a History of Magic book. Hermione, sitting across from him, noticed that he had been studying the same page for ten minutes.  
  
"Harry!"  
  
Harry's head jerked up and then dropped again as he tried to pretend he had been reading all along.  
  
Hermione sighed. "I don't know why you said you'd come with me to study if you're just going to fall asleep."  
  
"It's just so boring, why does anyone need to know this stuff? I'd be able to stay awake if it was actually even slightly interesting."  
  
Hermione looked distinctly unamused. Then Harry saw the glimpse of a smile.  
  
"You know, if it's too difficult, I could ask some of the 1st or 2nd Years to help you. One of them could read it to you while the others explained what the words meant."  
  
Harry's eyes narrowed as Hermione leaned forward and raised her eyebrows, challenging him to think of a suitable reply.  
  
Seconds passed.  
  
"Well," she continued, when she saw that Harry had chosen to simply glare at her, "perhaps you should get back to reading."  
  
"I'll do that." Harry moved his glare from Hermione to the page in front of him, and then realised he had no recollection of anything that was written there. He groaned, took off his glasses and slowly lowered his head until it was resting on the book.  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes. "That's an interesting reading technique you've got there Harry."  
  
Harry felt it was a little harsh of her to use sarcasm so late in the day, and demonstrated this by ignoring her.  
  
Hermione gave up. "Oh all right, let's go. You're clearly not going to get anything done, other than continually annoy me."  
  
Harry raised his head, gave Hermione a grateful smile and grabbed his glasses.

* * *

Harry slept in the next morning, a problem that was halved when he saw that Ron had as well. As the pair stumbled down to the Great Hall for a quick breakfast before class, Ron was complaining about the amount of homework they had been given.  
  
"I mean it's not like I can't do it, it's just that there's so much! By the time I'd finished the stuff for Charms, I had no time to learn how to make a sleeping potion. Did you get much done in the library last night?"  
  
Harry considered a number of answers to Ron's question, before finally settling on the honest one.  
  
"No. I fell asleep."  
  
"Quite right too."  
  
"It's just so boring."  
  
"Yup."  
  
"I mean if...... hang on, you're agreeing with me? Hermione was so disappointed."  
  
"Well it all comes naturally to her, doesn't it? She probably learns that stuff while she's sleeping or something. Wouldn't be surprised if she's read every book in that library already, I expect they keep having to order new ones for her."  
  
Harry grinned at Ron's serious expression and attempted to cheer him up. "At least she can help us with our homework."  
  
Ron brightened at this thought. "Yeah, she can help me with that sleeping potion. I'll just tell her she's helping the hopeless."  
  
Feeling considerably better, they pushed open the doors to the Great Hall, only to find themselves confronted by a half empty room. They looked at each other and realisation dawned that they weren't late for anything. It was Saturday.

* * *

Author note: I know this is short, but it's pretty much my first attempt to write anything so let me know what you think.


	2. Things start happening

* * *

Author's Note: This chapter is dedicated to Rachel416 who reviewed part 1 and inspired me to write more.

* * *

"Would you keep it down!"  
  
"It just doesn't feel right, that's all I'm saying."  
  
"You said it was a great plan!"  
  
"Well..." Harry faltered.  
  
Ron however, didn't take any notice and continued his rant. "I go to all the trouble of finding a brilliant hiding place and now you're having second thoughts?"  
  
"All you did was drag me into an empty classroom!"  
  
"An empty classroom with a cleverly positioned cupboard to hide behind," Ron continued, a mixture of pride and triumph on his face.  
  
Harry was having some trouble remembering how the so-called 'great plan' had originated, but he was now regretting ever having gotten involved.

* * *

FLASHBACK - EARLIER THAT DAY...  
  
"I can't believe you both forgot it was Saturday, I mean, I expect Ron to do this kind of thing, but you Harry, you should know better."  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"Oh I'm not insulting you Ron, I'm just pointing out the inherent differences between you both. Harry is more studious and you're more emotional."  
  
"I'm not emotional!" Ron cried, with a great deal of emotion that Hermione tactfully failed to point out.  
  
"Well, of course not, when I say emotional I actually mean slightly crazy."  
  
Harry risked a glance at Ron, who was looking not so much slightly crazy as severely distressed.  
  
"Anyway," Hermione went on, "at least you're up early and have the whole day to do homework."  
  
Harry didn't dare look at Ron now, as they made their way back to Gryffindor Tower.

* * *

BACK TO THE PRESENT - BEHIND A CUPBOARD IN AN EMPTY CLASSROOM....  
  
So Ron had persuaded Harry that the only way to escape a determined Hermione was to hide from her until she was in a less motivated frame of mind.  
  
".....and the best part is, I brought my wizard chess set!" Ron had clearly failed to notice the glazed expression on Harry's face, and had been going over the various advantages of sitting behind a cupboard.  
  
Harry came to a decision.  
  
"Ron, much as I appreciate the obvious effort you've made in securing us a hideout, I think I would prefer to not have to tell people that I hid behind a cupboard all day."  
  
"But the plan..."  
  
"Ron, seriously, whenever I'm in need of a plan in the future, I'll come to you, but I think we should face the inevitable and do our very best to get Hermione to do our homework for us."  
  
Ron faced the inevitable.  
  
"Well, all right, but don't you come crying to me when you realise that my cupboard plan was better than writing about the benefits of the Fnurgle Root in healing potions."  
  
Harry, impressed that Ron had remembered what the homework was, simply nodded and led the way back to the Tower.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hermione was in the library, feeling suspicious about Harry and Ron's disappearance, but realising that studying was more important. She had finished her Potions homework before lunch and was now reading about the history of Hogsmeade.  
  
She was far too absorbed to notice someone, or perhaps some_thing_, watching her from behind a bookcase.

* * *

Harry and Ron had been back in Gryffindor Tower for two hours, trying to find out what on Earth a Fnurgle Root was, when Ginny appeared and distracted them.  
  
"Have either of you seen Hermione? She said she would be in the library, but she's not, and nobody's seen her for ages."  
  
Harry and Ron looked at each other and simultaneously shrugged, causing Ginny to roll her eyes.  
  
"Well could you help me find her? She was supposed to help me with my Muggle Studies homework, and it's due in on Monday."  
  
Ron started to make excuses before Harry had a moment of clarity.  
  
"Ron," he said, as he gestured towards the parchment in front of them, "if we help her find Hermione, we won't have to do any more of this."

* * *

There is a particular door in Hogwarts that is always locked, and no spell can open it. There is nothing outstanding about this door. It looks like any other. Which is the point. Behind the door is a fairly ordinary classroom. Or so it seems. The careful observer would notice that certain things are, well, wrong. The walls appear to meet at a much tighter angle than should be possible, and if you were to drop a marble on the floor, it would slowly roll in an endless meandering pattern. There are several dusty desks lying around in a haphazard fashion, and the three large windows are boarded up, with only a few gaps allowing the room to be dimly lit. The walls were once white, but are now grey, and cracks run from the floor to the ceiling, or maybe from the ceiling to the floor. Currently, the most interesting thing about the room is lying in the middle of the floor. A girl, about fifteen or sixteen years old, with bushy brown hair and a book underneath her right hand.  
  
Hermione Granger woke up. 


	3. The escapades continue

Author note: Ok, hopefully this chapter will explain what was going on in the last chapter, you know, filling in some of the blanks, that kind of thing. I really have no idea where I'm going with this story, so if it seems a bit rambling I can only hope you forgive me. Any suggestions with regards to my writing, or some kind of plot, would be gratefully received. The chapters would be longer if it wasn't for my childlike impatience. Anyway, read on.

* * *

Hermione was beginning to get worried. The last thing she remembered was being in the library. That is to say, the last thing she remembered before waking up, locked in a strange classroom, was being in the library. She had tried various spells that should have, in theory, let her out with minimal fuss, and when they didn't work she tried the traditional methods of banging on the door and screaming loudly for help. After several minutes of that, she sat down and thought about her options. 

Where were Harry and Ron when she needed them?

* * *

"Maybe she... got an invisibility cloak and is following us around to see how worried we are about her." 

"That doesn't really sound like the kind of thing Hermione would do."

Ron looked at his sister impatiently. "Well I was just trying to think of something, seeing as we've looked everywhere. In fact, I think we've been down this corridor already."

They had been wandering around for ages. Harry was thinking out loud. "We've checked the Great Hall, the library twice, Hagrid hasn't seen her, no one else we've asked has seen her. Maybe we should just stop and think about this a little more carefully." Ginny looked at him, rolled her eyes, then walked to the wall and sat down, pulling her legs up and leaning her chin on her knees.

"What are you doing?" Ron asked.

"Thinking of course, now shut up for two minutes."

There was a moment of silence.

Ron turned his head slightly. "Do you hear something?"

"No."

"I thought I heard something."

There was another moment of silence.

"Actually, I think you might be right, there was some kind of..."

"Shh," Ginny interrupted, "Ron's definitely right, listen."

A faint tapping echoed through the corridor.

"What is it?"

They moved towards the sound, treading as softly as they could. They headed up a narrow spiral staircase, which had seen better days.

Tapping became banging.

"I think we're getting closer."

"Why are we even trying to find whatever's making that noise? Maybe it's just a regular occurrence, I mean, it's not like we wander around this part of Hogwarts that often."

"It's just natural curiosity, isn't it? If you hear something strange, you go and see what it is."

"That's a marvellous argument Ron, what if it's an angry dragon or something?"

"Then we'll be grateful that Harry's at the front."

Harry looked round, as if reminding Ron that his hearing worked.

"Just joking mate, anyway, it probably won't be a dragon."

"I think there's a light up ahead."

They emerged into a corridor that was barely wider than the staircase they had just climbed. There were several doors on either side, but there were no paintings, and the narrow windows were few and far between.

"It's really loud now, it must be coming from one of these rooms." Ron began walking up the corridor.

"Interestingly, sounds aren't actually loud or soft, they only seem to be, depending on where you are in relation to whatever's making the sound."

Harry and Ron both turned to stare at Ginny.

"What? A girl's allowed to read isn't she?"

Seeing the confused look on their faces, she smiled brightly.

"Shall we try a door then?"

The first door was locked. As was the second.

Ron tried the third door, which suddenly flew open, knocking Ron on the head, causing him to fall to the ground, unconscious.

Harry and Ginny turned with astonishment as a gaping Hermione stared first at Ron, then at the door, then at them.

Chaos ensued.

* * *

"...so after I had tried all the spells I could think of, I tried to think of what you and Ron might do under the circumstances." 

"And that's when you started kicking the door."

It was an hour later and Ron was still unconscious, lying in a bed in the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey had declared him 'merely bruised' and said she would give him a potion when he woke up that would fix him completely. Harry and Ginny were standing as Hermione, sitting on the bed stroking Ron's forehead (which is where the door hit him), told them about the strange events of the day.

"I don't understand it." Harry was confused, and was only thankful that he hadn't been the one hit on the head by a door.

"Well, it was clearly an old door, and I was persistent."

"No, I mean, I can believe that the door was on its last hinges, but why didn't magic work?"

"It must have had protection spells on it, so that no one could use magic to open it. Who would have thought that good old-fashioned kicking would work?"

"Ok, but why would someone kidnap you and lock you in a room with a dodgy door, only to then do nothing? It makes no sense whatsoever."

"I agree. The only thing that can give us a clue is this." Hermione held up a red book. "This was in the room with me, but it's not one of the ones I was reading in the library. It's similar to The Standard Book of Spells, but it seems to be really old, and I don't understand parts of it."

Ginny opened her mouth to ask a question, but at that moment Ron groaned and opened his eyes.

"Are you all right Ron? I'm so sorry."

Ron locked eyes with Hermione for a moment, who hastily removed her hand from his forehead.

"What happened?"

Harry spoke first. "Well, I don't need to hear the story twice, I'm glad you're all right mate, I'll see you later."

Ginny followed his example. "Yeah, but I'll come and see you soon Ron."

They left as Hermione began her story all over again.

"Did you see that?"

"See what?"

"The... look between my brother and Hermione."

"There was a look?"

"I thought that's why you left?"

"I just didn't want to hear everything again, I'm sure we'll be discussing it in great detail later, so why hang around once I knew Ron is going to be ok?"

Ginny looked at Harry as though he were an idiot.

"There was clearly some kind of look."

"Well I'm glad you're being so specific, I mean a look, that sure gives a lot away, I'm looking at you just now but I don't see you going on about that."

Ginny frowned, but she wasn't going to give up easily. "Could you just do me a favour then? You see them more than me, pay a little more attention to them than you usually do and see if there any indications that they like each other."

"Of course they like each other, we're all best friends."

They had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

Ginny gave it one more shot.

"Just try and remember if they do anything unusual, you know? Like if they fight over something that wouldn't usually bother them, or if they're just looking at each other more than usual."

Ginny then smiled as sweetly as she could.

Harry relented slightly, partly so that Ginny would stop going on about it, and partly because it was quite a smile.

"Ok, I'm not sure about this whole looking thing, but I'll try."

"Thanks Harry, see you later then."

Harry stared at her departing frame, before heading into the common room and collapsed on a sofa, trying to work out when Ginny started talking to him so much.

* * *

Author note: Ok, I realise not much really happened with the whole kidnapping thing, but who knows, maybe it foreshadows future developments. Suggestions for such developments are welcome. As are reviews. Cheers. 


End file.
